Stay Safe
by SoaringEagle11
Summary: Kira is attacked by scientists and a girl with a shaved head when she visits Hawkins Lab, but she soon finds out that their true target was Hayley and one of them was corrupting all of them. With the help of five kids, they have to stop the corruptor before he destroys Hayley. (Beautiful last chapter!)
1. We Have To Save Her

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Conner asked Kira in a warning manner as she stopped their car in front of Hawkins laboratory. "I've heard that it's dangerous to go in there these days."

"I'll be fine," Kira assured him and Ethan. "Now, which one of you is driving next?"

"Me," Conner answered.

"Okay." Kira got out of the car.

"Call us if you need us," Ethan called as Conner got into the driver's seat and began to drive away.

"Goodbye, guys," she whispered after them.

Kira then turned her attention to the building. There was something very sinister about it, but she believed that it would also be very interesting. She walked over to the door and opened it.

"Hello." She spun around at the sound of a scientist's voice. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kira Ford and I was wondering what it was like in a lab."

The scientist was male, with short brown hair and tan skin, with a small beard. He smiled. "Follow me then. I'm Arnold. Also, put on a lab coat." He handed one to her. "You'll need it to get into our human experimental division."

"What's that?"

"I'll show you."

He began to lead her through the twists and turns of the laboratory, which began to make Kira nervous, even with the bright lights all around. Maybe Conner was right. Maybe she shouldn't have come here. But what the scientist was about to show her was what she needed to know about. Somehow, she had heard that they were keeping people with special powers prisoner there and experimenting on them. Even Conner, Ethan, Dr. O, or Trent didn't know this. However, one thought quickly passed through her mind. Why was the scientist so trusting of her already? She had also heard that they never allowed anyone in who didn't work there. However, when he pushed her into a bright room and closed the door, muttering "Wait here," as he left, she took a few deep breaths, encouraging herself not to panic. It still wasn't locked. Then she realized there was already someone in there with her.

A fair-skinned girl with a shaved head sat at the table in the center of the room, glaring at he space in front of her. But as soon as Kira took a step toward her, the girl's gaze swiveled toward her. She blinked, slowly taking off her lab coat. "Hi."

The girl spoke slowly, in a warning voice. "Where is Papa?"

"Why do you think I know? You don't even know _me._ "

"Papa left me here."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Can you bring me back to him?"

"I'm afraid not."

The girl's eyes narrowed even more. "You took me away from him."

"I did nothing to you!"

"You're only saying that to save yourself."

"What do you-?" Kira's words were cut off as some kind of energy swept her off her feet and she crashed to the floor. "Ow! Did you do that?"

"No one else is here. You will take me back to my papa right now."

"But I don't know where he is!" she protested, realizing something. If this girl had strange abilities, then she had to be part of this program. Had the scientist left her in here so the girl would think she was someone working there? Was she fighting back? "Don't do anything to me!"

"You took me.'' She had clearly been wanting to get out of there for a while.

"I. Did. Not!" As soon as those words left Kira's mouth, the girl held up her arm in front of her, palm facing away. Kira felt a rush of agonizing pain flash through her body and she was slammed against the door, which then fell open. As soon as it did, she got up and started to run.

"Stop right there!"

Kira skidded to a stop as she saw the scientist from before. Arnold, standing a few feet away in front of her. More scientists surrounded her and she gasped.

"You didn't really think that we'd let you into any of our programs, did you?" Arnold snarled, taking a step toward her. "We knew our subject would eventually fight back. We know who you are. You have nowhere to run."

He pulled out a gun and before she had any time to move, he sent a bullet into her side. Kira cried out in pain, collapsing on the floor.

"Who am I then?" she yelled.

"You're part of the police force hired to bring us down!"

"I'M A POWER RANGER!" she roared back. Those words exhausted the last of Kira's energy.

"I don't care."

She couldn't believe what was happening. No one had ever tried to kill her other than Mesogog and most of his monsters and allies, including Elsa and Zeltrax. Kira pressed a hand against her side, her vision growing blurry as blood seeped through her yellow top. Arnold fired at her again and hit her on the side of the head. Unspeakable pain surged through her and she screamed again before it faded out and she fell unconscious. The bullet, luckily, had not reached her brain, but it had nearly done so and blood was streaming from her side and head.

Then, as soon as the scientists had left, a couple of voices sounded from behind a door in the other direction.

"Do you think everything is alright in there?"

"I hope she isn't in there. I heard gunshots."

"We still have to make sure that someone isn't hurt before we go look for her."

"You're right. Shooting isn't exactly a normal thing to do in a lab."

The door sprang open and Conner, Ethan, Tommy, and Trent rushed inside, halting in shock when they saw the scene in front of them.

Trent was the first to move again. "Kira!" he gasped, darting over to kneel beside her. "No... no..." He and Kira had been in love for a while yet ad he definitely didn't want to lose her.

"What happened here?" Ethan's eyes widened.

"Kira... my love... don't leave me..." Trent looked up at Tommy with terror in his eyes. "Dr. O... do you think Hayley can help her?"

"Maybe..."

"Then let's go."

Everyone climbed into the car and Trent drove as fast as he could to Hawkins Hospital. Kira had to stay there for a whole month until she was strong enough to make it back to the hotel where the team was staying for their trip to Hawkins. However, when they got there, they began to smell smoke. Then many people ran out shouting, "FIRE!"

Conner called the fire department and the firemen had just arrived and gotten everyone out when someone pointed out that they could still see someone in the building. The chief radioed up to the firemen getting out of the hotel to look for them.

Tommy's heart skipped a beat as he looked over the crowd in front of him. Only one person was missing. He held his breath. It couldn't be...

"We've got her!" the walkie-talkie yelled with a bit of static to it.

 _Her... no..._

An ambulance drove up to the building and the Rangers craned their necks to see who was hurt as one of the firemen came out holding a young, unconscious girl in his arms.

At once, Tommy called, "Hayley!"

 _It can't be,_ he was thinking. _Not her..._

"Hayley?" Kira murmured with a trembling voice.

What had happened to her? As the fireman got closer and the crowd parted to let him through, Tommy could see dark marks on Hayley's neck, in addition to the blood covering her chest, as if someone had tried to choke her. This hadn't been an accident. Someone had been after Hayley and attempted to murder her.

Kira knew who it could have been. That girl from the lab could have been manipulated to do this. Even when she was attacking her before, she had seen the fear in her eyes and realized she was just scared. Or it could be the male scientist Arnold who had betrayed her. She followed Tommy and Trent into the ambulance and Conner yelled to them to call him on updates.

Trent bit his lip as he wrapped his arms around Kira and they sat on the little bench. She leaned into him, trembling.

"We shouldn't have brought her with us," Kira sighed.

"Well, what's done is done," Tommy pointed out.

"Oh, don't pretend you're not freaking out too," Trent replied.

Tommy glanced down at Hayley laying motionless on the bed. "I am. But I've been afraid for a long time that this would happen. You're right. We never should have brought her here."

Kira looked at him in surprise. "What do you know about this? Please tell us."

"I really shouldn't..."

"But we need to know what's going on."

"Fine." Tommy took a deep breath. "Hayley used to work at that lab, around the time when you, Conner, and Ethan first became Power Rangers. That's where she used to go while we were all at school. However, one of the scientists hated the Power Rangers and had convinced everyone to hate them too, since he knew they couldn't solve the problem of the Upside Down. When he found out she was working for the Power Rangers, he chased her away and threatened to kill her and anyone she worked with if she or they came around ever again." He paused to breathe for a moment. "She had mentioned Kira a few times before but when he found out she was a Power Ranger, he was angry. In the lab, someone must have recognized her there and today, he must have set the whole building on fire. It's the only hotel in Hawkins, so he'd know from Kira that she was staying there."

Kira felt a lump form in her throat, but she forced herself to swallow it back. "What was the scientist's name?"

"I think it was Arnold."

The hair on the back of the Yellow Ranger's neck stood up. "Th- that's the name of the one who attacked me at the lab, along with this crazed girl."

"And now he's finally found Hayley again..." Trent whispered, rubbing Kira's back gently.

They soon arrived at the hospital and Kira stayed outside with Trent and Tommy, crying on Trent's shoulder and being pretty much unable to look as Hayley was taken away.

There was no news of her for two months and Tommy was the most worried out of all of the team, for his and Hayley's relationship was like Kira's and Trent's. It was killing him and since the hotel had burned down, they were staying in the hospital itself. Even there, none of them were allowed to see her.

All of a sudden, Conner burst into their large room at 1:00 am in the morning, panting heavily.

"Guys... she's dying... they might be able to help her... but... she's been in a coma for two months and she's asleep now, but woke up earlier tonight... please... just come..."

All the Rangers were light enough sleepers to be woken by his cry. They quietly tiptoed through the hospital until they reached the room where Conner had led them.

"Does she have a roommate?" Ethan asked. "Do hospitals even let people do this?"

"This one does. And no, she does not have a roommate. Come on." Conner slowly opened the door. "Dr. O, you can go in first."

Tommy drew in a huge breath as he entered the room. He could see Hayley clearly in the small lamplight that filtered from the lamp on the nightstand. She looked so small, so helpless. He pulled up a chair next to her bed and grasped one of her hands as he sat down. Her red hair was splayed out on her pillow and her skin was almost as pale as snow. Kira, Conner, Ethan, and Trent stood behind them, wishing that they didn't have to be here.

"Hayley..." he murmured. "We shouldn't have brought you here. I knew your past. I should have warned everyone. It's my fault you're dying."

"No..." Tommy jumped as a whisper of breath came from Hayley's lips and her eyes slowly opened. "Tommy..."

"Hayley, you're alive!"

"O- of course I am..."

"But aren't you..."

"I am, but I still have time left..."

"I'm so sorry..."

Hayley blinked. "It's okay. He was bound to find me anyway." She bit her lip and a tear slipped from her right eye. "I- I just can't believe it... if anything goes wrong later..."

"What are they doing to you?"

She bit her lip again and gestured to an extremely thin tube that was connected to her arm. "This... this is the only thing that's keeping my heart rate from slowing down and stopping. I- I'm getting an operation tomorrow that will make it so I can survive without this. If someone took this out before then... I'd be dead within a few minutes."

"A- are you sure?"

"You really want to test that?"

Tommy was silent, then shook his head.

"Tommy... I'm really scared..."

"Not as scared as I am. Hayley, I don't want to lose you."

"And I don't want to let you go. But... you know it's like 1:15 in the morning, right?"

"I don't care. I'll do anything to stop you from being like this."

"But there's really nothing you can do," Hayley pointed out, breathing out a sigh. "Except... just... pray for me."

"I love you, Hayley." Tommy ran a hand through her chestnut hair. "And I promise I will pray for you. But now... I think we need to get some sleep." He leaned down and kissed her cheek, then stood up.

"Goodnight, Tommy." She smiled weakly. "Trent, Ethan, and Conner... have a good night. Kira, I heard what happened to you before and I'm glad you're all right."

"Thanks, Hayley," Kira said shyly. "Have... have a good night."

The Rangers left the room in silence and Tommy cast a mournful look back at Hayley before closing the door.

...

 _She can't be dead, she can't be dead, she can't be dead..._

That was the only thought going through Tommy's head the next day as he sat in the waiting room. He kind of wished that Hayley hadn't told him what was happening to her because now he was more worried than ever. He just wanted it to be over so she'd stay alive and they could get out of Hawkins and back to Reefside.

"Tommy?" The Black Ranger looked up as someone called his name. It was Anton Mercer.

"Anton, what are you doing in Hawkins? And in a hospital, no less."

"I just came to see the town and I can also check on Trent while he's here. I also have a friend who lives here that I've been staying with. But I could ask you the same thing." He sat down next to him. "What happened?"

"Kira was trying to find something specific in this town, but when she went back to the lab, she was attacked."

"Isn't that where Hayley used to work and divided her time between there and the cyberspace?"

"Yes, you know the whole story."

"So, is Kira the reason you're here?"

"No. The day Kira did get out of the hospital, about two months ago, we discovered that the hotel we'd been staying in was set on fire. Hayley had been trapped inside and she nearly died. She's been there for two months and today is the day when I'll find out if she's survived."

"Hayley? Oh..." Anton looked away.

"What's wrong? Have you heard something about her?"

"Tommy... Hayley survived, but..."

"But what?"

"She's paralyzed from the waist down and is never going to walk again. They're releasing her today, but she's going to be confined to a wheelchair for life."

"Hayley...?" Tommy winced.

"They're bringing her out now," Anton explained. "Do you want me to go get my son and his friends?"

"That would be very helpful, actually."

"Okay. I'll be back in a moment."

Once he had left, Tommy sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes. _I don't know how to deal with this. Poor Hayley..._

And then, as he opened his eyes and there she was. Hayley Ziktor, the one he'd always loved. Anton was right; she was in a wheelchair. She gave a little wave.

"Hey, Tommy."

"Hayley..."

"It's okay. I'm okay."

"Hayley, you can't be okay with this. I know you. I know how much something like this would hurt you." He held out his arms and lifted her out of the wheelchair onto his lap.

Hayley sighed. "You know me well." A couple of tears slipped down her face and she was losing the fight to not let more come.

"Don't worry; you'll be okay." As he held her gently against him, he saw Kira, Conner, Trent, and Ethan being led in by Anton Mercer behind her. They soon surrounded the pair.

"You survived," Kira whispered as she wiped a tear from Hayley's face. "I'm so sorry. This was all my fault."

"No, it wasn't," she sniffed. "He was going to find me again anyway."

"But he won't hurt you again," Conner proclaimed, glancing at all of the Rangers before turning back to Hayley and Tommy. Hayley managed a weak smile.

"We'll always protect you," Tommy said.

"And we'll help."

Everyone turned toward another direction toward the voice as a group of kids stepped out in front of them: an African-American boy with a bandanna tied around his head, a meek-looking boy with chestnut hair, a sort of smiling boy with brown curly hair, a confident-looking boy with short brown hair, and a tall girl with long, bright red hair.

"We know who you are," the boy with the short brown hair said. He had been the speaker from before. "We know you're the Power Rangers of Reefside. And we know who you're after."

"You do?" Ethan cocked an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

"My name is Mike." He gestured to his friends. "This is Lucas..." The African-American boy waved. "... Will..." The meek boy gave a timid wave, managing a small smile. "...Max..." The girl nodded, looking pleased. "...and Dustin." The last boy smiled, showing two missing front teeth. "We've even looking for you all afternoon."

"How do we really know you can help us?" Tommy asked.

"Because we have a friend trapped in the laboratory and she can communicate with us within her dreams. She also has the power to move things with her mind."

Kira stiffened and Trent narrowed his eyes. "Well, your _friend_ attacked my girlfriend when she went into the lab."

Mike blinked. "She was trapped in there a long time before she escaped and found us. However, she was captured again later and they've been messing with her mind a lot."

"How do you know who we're after?" Conner snapped.

"It's Arnold. He's the one who recaptured El."

Tommy nodded. "You do know us. I'm Tommy, but you can call me Dr. O."

One by one, the Rangers introduced themselves, then Mike turned towards Hayley. "And who are you? Are you a Ranger too?"

Hayley shook her head. "I'm Hayley and no, I'm not a Ranger." When Tommy explained what had happened to her, the kids looked appalled.

"We have to stop Arnold," Lucas growled. "He's done too much damage to all of us."

While Mike explained their plan, which consisted of bringing someone as bait and then some other teammates would morph and fight him while the kids got their friend Eleven out, Ethan said that Hayley should stay behind at the hospital.

"No, I'd better come too," Hayley said.

"Are you nuts?" Ethan gasped. "You..."

"Just because I can't walk doesn't mean I can't be if some use!" she snapped. "I can be your bait."

"No way," Tommy snarled. "No way." He looked straight at her. "I don't want to lose you again."

"Tommy, I need to do it. He'll definitely be drawn out if I'm there."

"Well..."

"Hey, I may be paralyzed, but that doesn't mean you can stop me. Then you can come out when he tries to attack me."

Kira sighed. "That may be the only plan we have."

Conner agreed. "Let's go get some sleep now. We get up early tomorrow and put the plan into action."

 _Be careful tomorrow, Hayley,_ Tommy prayed silently as they went their separate ways for bed. _I don't want to lose you for real._


	2. Chapter 2- Poised Attack: We Cannot Fail

The next morning, Tommy woke Hayley up at 7:00 and gently settled her into her wheelchair after he was finished getting her ready. Though she had only had it for less than a day, she was already very skilled at operating it. However, he knew that once this was over, she still wouldn't be able to live alone anymore.

"We're ready," Conner and Kira proclaimed as they stepped into the room, dressed and armed with their Dino Morphers and Gems. Ethan and Trent came a few minutes later, also dressed and armed. Mike had said to meet at the lab, so Kira drove them there and they waited tensely near the entrance for the kids. Mike was going to be driven by his big sister Nancy. Tommy was seriously contemplating getting back in the car and driving Hayley away from danger, but he knew this was the only way and besides, who could ever stop Hayley? She was willing to sacrifice herself to stop Arnold, but he really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"So..." Kira raised an eyebrow. "Are we really going to kill him?"

"Let's first get him pinned so we can get info out of him for why he's trying so badly to hurt Hayley," Tommy replied. "If we have to kill him, it'll be only as a last resort."

"But how will we get inside?" Ethan pointed out. "Remember, Kira did get caught at the entrance the first time."

"But not if you can get in through the secret entrance," Lucas exclaimed, stepping between all of them. Kira and Conner shrank back for a moment, surprised by his sudden appearance.

"What secret entrance?" Trent snapped.

"It's near the back of the lab and no scientists really ever use it," Max put in as she appeared at his side. "It has a stairway that leads up to where Arnold works."

"How do you know that?" Ethan put in.

Mike, Will, Dustin, and a teenage girl with wavy brown hair who must have been Nancy walked up beside them and Nancy responded for them, "Because we've been here before."

From Will's wince, Tommy could see that it wasn't appropriate to ask why they had been there, so he continued to talk like he hadn't seen it. "So can we go in the back door?"

"Wait..." Conner stopped them. "How is Hayley supposed to get up the stairs? If we leave her wheelchair behind..."

"We won't," Tommy retorted. "I will carry her and one of us can carry it. But we have to be as quiet as possible. You and Kira and Ethan and Trent and I will be waiting when we let her go in so we can protect her at a moment's notice."

"Hayley, do you really think you can handle this?" Mike questioned. "You just met us, but I don't want you to be hurt from this."

"I'll be fine." Hayley was trying not to let it show, but she was really scared. She had never done something this dangerous and now, without being able to use her legs, she could be killed for this mission. "Let's go."

The group headed in single file back to a door at the rear of the lab building. As soon as they went through, they could see that they really were standing on a landing next to the stairs. Tommy took Hayley out of her wheelchair and carried her up as Kira and Trent carried it behind him. Once they were up and Hayley was back where she was supposed to, everyone looked toward the only door they could see. Kira cautiously peeked inside, then withdrew herself.

"It looks empty," she whispered quietly, "but the room is a lot longer than I can see and I can tell that it might just be him, but he's definitely in there." She turned to Mike. "And your friend- El, isn't it?- is likely in there now. I don't know how, but I have a hunch that she is."

Tommy knelt down next to Hayley. "Are you ready for this? We'll be there in a millisecond if we see you being hurt."

"It'll be okay." She reached out and opened the door, then maneuvered into the center of the room. Conner closed the door behind her so that they could still at least see through a crack.

Hayley took a deep breath. "You wanted to see me, Arnold?" she yelled, with a touch of contempt in her voice. No answer. She opened her mouth to call again, but then, all of a sudden, six green bolts of energy came shooting through the air and struck the side of her wheelchair, knocking it over and sending her crashing into the wall. She gasped, blood trickling from the side of her mouth. The pain had begun to fill her body completely at the impact and she could barely lift her head to look over at her advancing attacker. She winced as she spotted the gleaming tip of a knife sticking out of his pocket.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, Ziktor," Arnold laughed as he walked up beside her and forcefully slammed a hand onto her neck, cutting off her air.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Tommy roared as he ran in from the door and attempted to get Arnold away from his girlfriend, but not before he was able to cut her side. Kira followed, dragging Hayley away while Tommy wrestled with Arnold. However, Arnold was able to break away and with a growl, he sprang at Hayley. Kira sprang to meet him.

"Watch out!" Hayley called. "He has a weapon and you're unarmed!"

It was too late. As they met in midair, Arnold pivoted and retrieved his dagger from his pocket as he charged back at her... and slashed the knife through Kira's chest.

"NO!" Trent shouted as he sped over to her and got down on his knees, pressing his hands against the gash. Tommy managed to stop Arnold before he could hit Trent too and Hayley was laying flat on her back on the floor, quickly gulping air.

Arnold shoved Tommy away, his eyes wild. He ran over to Hayley, slamming a foot onto her stomach. A loud _crack_ echoed through the air and she screamed in pain. Her legs might have been paralyzed, but she could still feel pain anywhere else.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Tommy thundered. He could see Mike, Max, Lucas, Dustin and Will sneaking into the room where their friend Eleven was held and watched Conner being rammed into the wall and he sighed. Hayley was injured, Conner was hurt as well, and Kira was dying. He narrowed his eyes. He had to stop this.

Tommy rushed toward Arnold and managed to catch him off guard, pinning him against the floor and ripping the knife from his hand.

"Why?" he growled.

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you want to kill Hayley?" When Arnold didn't answer, he yelled it louder. "WHY DO YOU WANT TO KILL HAYLEY?!"

Arnold's eyes narrowed as well, a red glint in them. "I lost my brother to the Upside Down because of her."

"What?"

"A previous team of Power Rangers she worked with came to Hawkins Lab and they didn't try to save him when he went in there. They escaped, but then I chased Hayley away too. She was the one who held them back. I vowed to kill her if she ever came back."

"But Arnold, if they had gone, they would have been taken too. Your brother probably knew the risks and you can't blame Hayley for his mistake."

Arnold's gaze swept over the Rangers as Hayley tried to get over to Kira and eventually failed as her hands slipped on the floor. Tommy got up and went over to Hayley. Her face was twisted with great pain.

"Trent will help Kira," he sighed to her. "You really need help right now."

Hayley's eyes had closed. When Tommy felt her chest, he noticed with a pang that it was no longer rising and falling.

"HAYLEY!" he gasped in shock. Leaning over his girlfriend, he attempted to administer CPR to her. After about 10 minutes, Hayley coughed a few times and opened her eyes again.

"Oh god..." Tommy gently ran a hand over her body, standing up shakily as she took in great, heaving breaths. He turned back to Arnold. "You cannot kill her. And Kira..." His gaze ran over her and Trent, who was clutching her body in his arms, tears slipping from her eyes. "Why did you have to do that to her?"

Arnold gave no answer, just stared up at him with eyes glinting with hatred.

"Tommy..." Hayley sat up slowly, still gasping for air. "Please... go... help... Kira. I'll be fine."

Fortunately, the kids and they had met before and Nancy had just rushed out of another room with their friend El. At Tommy's signal, the seven of them went over to him and surrounded Hayley. Soon, Ethan joined them. His heart pounding, he charged over to Trent and Kira.

"You need to get her out of here," Tommy told Trent. "She won't survive otherwise. Now go!"

Caressing Kira's bloodstained body in his arms, Trent stood up with her and dashed out of the room. Armold's eyes followed them, seeming to narrow even more. With them safe, Tommy ran back over to Hayley. He hated knowing that she couldn't fight back. That Arnold's corruption had crippled her so badly she would never be the same again.

"Arnold..." Hayley groaned as she sat up. "I'm sorry about your brother. But you must understand that the more people that thing takes in, the more it will spread out. If it gets out of containment, the whole city is lost."

"He didn't know the risks when he went in though," Arnold retorted. "You could have stopped him."

"Oh, he did know. He was even a more experienced scientist than you and was killed because of his desire to learn more about it. Trust me, I knew him better than you."

"You think I'm supposed to believe you?"

"I know there's a part of you that only wanted to do this because you felt like you were avenging your brother. But you're not. He died on his own terms and I was protecting Hawkins when I kept the Rangers back from becoming their prey as well."

"Really?" Arnold suddenly pulled a gun out of his pocket and held it at his side as he moved toward the group. "Well, soon, you'll be their prey." Quick as a flash of lightning, he knocked the kids out of the way one by one, then advanced on Nancy, hitting her with the butt of the gun and leaving her winded. Ethan wasn't fast enough to stop him as he fired.

But Tommy was. Using a special wind power he had, he changed the direction of the bullet right before it could pierce through Hayley's heart. It ricocheted back toward Arnold and went right through his chest. It hadn't hit his heart though, which was why right before he died, he was able to fire again, aiming toward Hayley.

"NO!" Hayley screamed as it grazed her shoulder. It might have been only a graze, but with the sensitivity of her body at that point, it hurt like hell to her.

"Shh, you're okay," Tommy breathed as he examined the shallow wound. "It's okay now... he's dead..." He quickly fetched Hayley's wheelchair and got her settled into it. "Yeah... I think I need to take you to the hospital too."

El glanced at them with large eyes. "What is that moving chair?" she asked innocently.

Mike whispered something into her ear and her face hardened. "I'm sorry, Hayley."

"It's... okay..." Hayley groaned, leaning back in her wheelchair and closing her eyes.

"We need to go. NOW!" Tommy took Hayley's body in his arms and rushed out of the room with her. The kids stayed behind to help El, and Ethan and Connor went to help Nancy get to the hospital as well since it seemed like she had a concussion.

"It's all over," he said quietly as he skipped the stairs three at a time with astounding speed. "He's dead, Hayley... you'll be fine.."

 **Two weeks later...**

Tommy sat restlessly in the Hawkins Hospital waiting room with Mike and Trent at his side. Nancy was getting discharged on that day after her painful concussion and he and Trent had insisted on driving Mike so they could also check on Hayley and Kira.

At last, a nurse came into the room with Nancy walking by her and Mike went to meet her. Tommy and Trent followed.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mike. But why are you-?" Mike cut her off and whispered something in her ear and her face softened.

"Excuse me," Tommy called to the receptionist as he and Trent moved over to the counter. "May we ask to see a couple of patients here?"

"Depends on who they are."

"Hayley Ziktor and Kira Ford."

"Let's see..." She tapped a few keys on her computer and bit her lip. "Kira is currently in heart surgery. You cannot see her."

Trent sighed in defeat.

"What about Hayley?"

Another few clicks. "In emergency recovery, since her previous spinal condition did not react well with her new injuries."

"When will they both be released?"

Many more taps. "Kira, about two weeks. Hayley, about two and a half. And this is all unless something bad comes up."

"Well, thank you very much."

"No problem."

 **Four** **weeks later...**

Hayley trembled slightly as she gently pushed her wheelchair across the floor of her boyfriend's house. Tommy nodded in approval and she smiled.

"You're getting much better at that," he commented.

"Thanks," she replied shyly. "But I wasn't entirely asleep earlier, so where'd you go?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Just something I needed to do."

"Tommy, you're sweating. What is it?"

He rolled his eyes nervously. "It was something I'd wanted to do before you were hurt... but I don't really know..."

"Hey, you can tell me anything. If it has to be quick though because the others are coming over soon. I left the door unlocked."

"But it's really serious," he pointed out.

"I can take it. Come on, hit me."

"Now?"

"Come on, I don't care what environment you needed for it, just hit me."

Tommy sighed as he took a small black box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing... a diamond ring.

"What...? Tommy..."

He knelt in front of her as both their smiles widened.

And Mike, El, Lucas, Dustin, Nancy, Connor, Kira, and Ethan walked through the unlocked door... just as the life-changing words left Tommy's mouth.

"Hayley Ziktor... will you marry me?"

"I..."

She didn't even see everyone watching her as tears came to her eyes and she whispered, _"I'd want nothing more."_

 **Hayley's and Tommy's wedding will arrive in the next chapter! I really wanted to write that, so it will come out soon! Stay tuned for the most visually beautiful Power Rangers chapter I've ever written! (I hope.)**


End file.
